Martin Aurand 

Martin Aurand is head of the Arts Library and Special Collections at the University Libraries of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.  As Architecture Librarian he works closely with Carnegie Mellon’s School of Architecture.  As Archivist of the Carnegie Mellon University Architecture Archives he manages a repository of architectural drawings and other records documenting the architects and architecture of Pittsburgh and vicinity.  The Archives sponsors digital projects, publications, exhibits, and other activities. He is also an architectural historian and writer.  He received his M.A. in American Studies and Historic Preservation at George Washington University, and a Master of Library Science degree at the University of Pittsburgh.  He is a past president of the Association of Architecture School Librarians.

Aurand is a close observer of Pittsburgh’s urban fabric.  He is the author of two books: The Spectator and the Topographical City (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2006), and The Progressive Architecture of Frederick G. Scheibler, Jr. (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1994); a research guide: Pittsburgh Architecture: A Guide to Research; and a number of articles on Pittsburgh architects and architecture. The Spectator and the Topographical City examines Pittsburgh’s built environment as it relates to the city’s unique topography, adopting the viewpoint of the spectator. 

View of the Point – the conjunction of the Ohio and Monogahelia Rivers which together form the Allegheny River.